


Ruby-doo-be-doo!

by AlyssiaInWonderland



Category: RWBY, Scooby Doo - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Mystery, Other, RWBY and JNPR are almost all the cast, Scooby-Doo AU, The Scooby-doo AU one person asked for, but its crack with angst?, idek man, pretty much crack, sorta?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-02 11:21:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10943481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlyssiaInWonderland/pseuds/AlyssiaInWonderland
Summary: When Mystery Inc is hired by famous heiress Weiss Schnee to investigate the appearance of a ghostly giant knight at the Schnee Manor, they encounter family secrets, violence, hilarity and just a touch of romance!This is the scooby-doo AU that literally one person asked me for.





	Ruby-doo-be-doo!

**Author's Note:**

> When Mystery Inc is hired by famous heiress Weiss Schnee to investigate the appearance of a ghostly giant knight at the Schnee Manor, they encounter family secrets, violence, hilarity and just a touch of romance!
> 
> This is the scooby-doo AU that literally one person asked me for.
> 
> Jaune is Fred, Yang is Daphne, Blake is Velma, Ruby is Shaggy and Zwei is Scooby. Nora and Ren are journalists, and Pyrrha is a personal trainer. Weiss is their client.
> 
> (I'm only kind of sorry for this)

“Uh, guys? We have a new client!” Jaune put down the phone, looking over to the rest of the gang in the living room, with an expression that could only be described as shell-shocked.

Ruby grinned from her position on the couch, where she sat cuddling Zwei and feeding the dog and herself cookies alternately. 

“Mffph good!”

“Oh yeah, Mystery Inc is back on track!” Yang gave the air a small victory-punch, and fell off the arm of the chair Blake was sitting in.

“That sounds great, Jaune.” Blake smiled up from her book, rolling her eyes at Yang’s antics. “But it doesn’t explain why you look like Zwei just landed on your face again.”

“Uh. We have been hired by Weiss Schnee.”

The entirety of Mystery Inc stared at Jaune. Jaune stared back. Zwei uttered a disbelieving bark. Wordlessly, Jaune pressed a button on the phone, and played back the most recent phone-call.

 

“Mystery help, how may I Inc y- no wait, Mystery Inc. How may I help you?”

“Could I speak to whoever arranges hiring your services?”

“Um, that…would be me!”

“Jaune, is it? I need your group’s assistance on a delicate matter. I trust I have your utmost discretion?”

“I can guarantee it, Ma’am.”

“Good. I…believe my house is haunted, and while I have done everything I can to protect my family, it seems I need the help of experts.”

“We would be happy to look into it. What is your address and when would you like us to arrive? And, uh, fees, yes. We work on a case-by-case bas-“

“Perfect! The fees will not be a problem.”

“Um, the address, Ma’am?”

“That would be Schnee Manor. I’m sure you are aware of where that is. The butler, Klein, will let you in. Just say that Weiss Schnee hired you. I’m afraid I have to go now. I look forward to meeting your team tomorrow.”

 

The click of the recording ending filled the room.  
“Well. That was a thing.” Yang exclaimed, from her position on the floor.

“Oooooh! I can’t believe it! We’re visiting the Schnee Mansion! I bet it’s really pretty, I mean obviously it will be expensive but I just know it’s going to have lots of statues and gardens and just be so exciting and cool, you know!?” Ruby squeaked at Zwei, who barked happily in agreement.

“Blake? Are you…okay with this?” Jaune asked, tentatively.

“The Schnee family has many problems. But I don’t think they deserve to be terrorised. That would make me as bad as them. I’m in. Though I reserve the right to stay back and examine the evidence in the van if I feel threatened.” Blake said, her voice only shaking a little, sustained by Yang’s gentle, supportive touch on her arm.

“Well then. Tomorrow, we get to visit Schnee Manor!”

 

As Mystery Inc headed up the drive, in their colourful van, PENNY, they couldn’t help but feel out of place. The large lawn surrounding the white gravel drive was perfectly manicured, the shrubs clipped perfectly, almost sterile in its impersonality. 

The Manor itself was large, and pure white, with a façade of the Schnee Dust Company symbol, and Vaccuo-inspired columns in the fashion of many of the rich and powerful. Jaune drove slowly and carefully, terrified of accidentally swerving onto the lawn and earning the eternal ire of the gardener. Ruby and Zwei has their noses plastered against the glass windows, temporarily distracted from their usual cookie-seeking ways.

“Oh good, we’re here!” Jaune sighed with relief as they pulled up on the expanse of driveway that opened out onto the wide steps to the manor’s main doors. As they pulled up, a short man in a crisp suit came out of the doors to greet them.

“You must be Mystery Inc. I am Klein, the butler. It’s a pleasure to meet you. If you will allow me to arrange someone to park your vehicle, I will take you to Miss Schnee.” Klein smiled, crossing one hand over his body and bowing in greeting.

“Um, thank you Sir.” Jaune handed over the keys, slightly intimidated by the butler’s professionalism. 

“If you would follow me?” Klein turned and began to lead the way up the large white steps. Jaune followed, Yang taking Blake’s hand as they entered the cold shadow of the enormous building.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Though I admit the manor is somewhat…intimidating.” Blake’s face betrayed little emotion, though her hand was gripping Yang’s extremely tightly. Her other hand kept reaching up to check her bow was secure.

“We’ll be okay, Blake.” Ruby moved to her side and took her other hand. Zwei barked in agreement and licked both their hands comfortingly. Blake gave him a glare to keep up appearances, but the whole gang already knew she was just as affectionate of the dog as she had been petrified of him when they had first met.

 

They entered an expansive atrium, complete with two statues of giant knights on either side of the main staircase. The walls were sparsely decorated with rich oil paintings of various places in Mantle, but there were no carpets on the marble floors and their footsteps echoed loudly.

“If you wait here, Miss Schnee will meet you.” Klein moved away, and Ruby darted over to catch his arm.

“Look after PENNY, please, Mr Klein!” she said, earnestly, gesturing at the key.

“I will.” Klein said solemnly, seeming unfazed by the request, as he headed back out of the doors.

As they waited, the gang was uncharacteristically silent, the patter of Zwei’s feet as he circled the group the main sound in the entire manor. The tap of footsteps grew louder, and Zwei bounded away towards them.

“Zwei, no!” Ruby sprinted after him, catching up to him at the edge of the atrium and diving onto him to hold him back, skidding to a halt in front of a pair of immaculate, ice-blue heels. Her eyes travelled up from the boots, to the flared dress that matched the boots perfectly, past the snow white ponytail and was finally met with the full force of Weiss Schnee’s blue-eyed ire.

“Sorry!” Ruby squeaked, scrambling up and holding on to Zwei’s collar.

“Watch where you’re going!” she snapped, blinking to take in the red black and grey mess in front of her. “Is – is that a dog?! What is it doing here? Is it..” her tirade slowed as she met Zwei’s adorable puppy-ish eyes. “That is, is he..going to stay? Here? Yes, you are! You are going to stay with me for ever and ever aren’t you!” she knelt without hesitation and rubbed Zwei behind the ears, crooning endearments at him with little regard for the rest of the gang in the room. 

Ruby was left standing crookedly, still holding Zwei’s collar and staring at the spectacle of what could only be Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, showering affection on her pet dog. Ruby, at a loss, cleared her throat. Slowly, Weiss noticed the sound and the hand on the dog’s collar, and followed the arm up to meet Ruby’s silver eyes. She stood up as suddenly as if she had been bitten, looking away and straightening out her skirts. Ruby broke the awkward silence that had descended by holding out her hand.

“Hello! I’m Ruby! We’re here to solve your mystery?”

“Weiss Schnee. I’m…delighted to meet you. These must be your friends?” Weiss shook Ruby’s hand delicately, and headed across to the rest of the gang, looking remarkably smooth and dignified.

“Um, hi!” Jaune managed to cough out some words, faced with his singing idol. Yang rolled her eyes.

“Hi, I’m Yang, Ruby’s older sister!”

“Blake.” Blake inclined her head at Weiss, without moving from Yang’s side.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you! Thank you for coming at such short notice.”

“Not at all, Heiress!” Jaune finally found his voice properly. “So, what seems to be the problem?”

 

Weiss sighed, stepping back so she could address all of them at once. “Schnee Manor is being haunted by a walking suit of armour. That is to say, every single night for the last month, the ghost of a knight has patrolled the corridors. It has been terrorising my family, we can’t even set foot outside our rooms unless it is light outside, or it chases and attacks us. I’ve done what I can to defend us all – I fence but my father’s injury prevents him from fighting back, and my brother has never been…gifted in combat. If this goes on for too long, I won’t be able to protect everybody anymore.”

“So you could say your family are having…knight terrors? Eh? Eh?” Yang joked, making finger guns at Weiss. Blake slapped Yang’s hands down, rolling her eyes.

“What she means to say is that we would like to help.” Blake amended.

“Of course. What do you need?” Weiss asked.

“We should observe the knight, so I can gather evidence to pinpoint what the phenomenon actually is. With all due respect, Heiress, I doubt it is actually a ghost.” Blake continued.

“Well, it is certainly corporeal enough to engage in battle.” Weiss acknowledged. “What is the plan?” she looked over to Jaune, ostensibly the leader of the group.

“Um…we should…uh…” he paused to take a breath. “Split up and look for clues!”

“Why do you always say that?” Ruby whined, clinging to Zwei for comfort. 

 

Before Jaune could reply, a loud, intimidating voice rang out through the room.

“Weiss!” Weiss immediately turned and moved quickly towards a white-haired man who was descending the steps, meeting him at the base of the main staircase.

“Father!”

“What are these…people doing here?”

“I’m sorry, Father, let me introduce you. This is Jacques Schnee, head of the SDC. Father, this is Mystery Inc. I decided to hire them to take care of the knight problem.”

“I see.” He said, grimly. “We shall discuss this later, Weiss. Hello, Mystery Inc. It was a pleasure to meet you.” His expression clearly stated otherwise. Zwei moved forwards, nosing at Jacques’ shoes experimentally, and he moved away with distaste. “Please keep your dog under control.”

“Sorry Sir!” Ruby pulled Zwei back into her arms, cuddling him and observing from behind the safety of Zwei’s body.

“Don’t worry Father, I’ll make sure I keep an eye on the dog at all times.” Promised Weiss.

“Very well. Good-“ he paused, scrabbling to pull out the red handkerchief from his jacket, sneezing into it explosively. “Goodbye Myster-“ he paused and sneezed again. “Goodbye!” he said, hastily, turning away from them abruptly and moving out of the room as fast as he could go without breaking into a jog, sneezing heartily on his way out. Weiss started after him, her expression a mixture of relief and bewilderment.

“Strange. Usually he is only allergic to cats.” She commented.

“I…think I am going to set up some…analysis in the van. You know, infra-red wavelength oscillation detectors and ectoplasmic residue verification systems, the usual…” Blake darted out of the main doors, heading for PENNY so quickly Yang could not even manage to follow her. Weiss blinked.

“Is she always that strange?”

“She’s kinda a lost cause,” Yang said with a grin. “But I wouldn’t have her any other way!”

“So come on guys, where were we?” Ruby prompted, itching to get moving again.

“Splitting up and looking for clues, I believe.” Weiss said, nodding to Jaune.

“Right!” Jaune picked up. “Yang, you’re with me in the east wing. Ruby, Zwei, go investigate the west wing. Weiss…I suppose you’re with Ruby then!”

Weiss nodded, and watched Yang and Jaune head off, turning to find Ruby and seeing only the flash of her red hoodie in a distant hallway.

“Ruby! Come back!”

 

Ruby sped off, racing Zwei to the end of the corridor, and they skidded around it, halting and laughing breathlessly from the exhilaration of the short sprint. 

“Oh yeah, Ruby v Zwei!” she called, giggling as they looked around. Her smile faded. The mansion was open and white, but the light inside was fairly dim, causing grey shadows that made unnerving patterns from the many skylights. Statues took posts on each side of the corridor, silently watching, and she crept closer to Zwei. 

“So…clues, huh. What does a clue look like?” they meandered forwards for a while, Zwei snuffling aimlessly. Suddenly, at a junction with another corridor, his ears perked up and he barked. 

“That way, boy? Ok!” As Ruby followed Zwei, she slowly began to realise why they were heading in that direction. “Zwei! No! We are not supposed to be finding food, we want clues!” Zwei looked back at her, whining, aggrieved, and made his best puppy-eyes. Being an adorable dog, he had an unfair head-start. 

Ruby felt her resolve waver, and the loud rumble of her stomach decided it. “Okay, let’s fill up and then look for clues!”

 

Yang and Jaune headed in the opposite direction to Ruby and Zwei, their boots making gentle clunks on the floor. 

“I know this is a bad moment to be fanboy-ing, but I can’t believe we are working for Weiss Schnee! Her songs are incredible!” Jaune grinned, running a hand through his messy hair as they walked, scanning the corridors.

“Down, Jaune-y boy! She’s a client!”

“I know she’s out of my league, Yang, don’t worry. But I can’t help being worried about her, and this whole Knight thing.”

“That’s not what I meant, Jaune. And yeah, her father didn’t seem very friendly. But relax, I have yet to encounter something I can’t punch!”

“Yang, it’s wearing armour.”

“So? Oh hey, Jaune, this statue looks like Santa!” Yang rushed over to the statue, and leaned in to examine it. “He’s got a beard and everything.”

“Nora is so getting to me, I kinda want to boop his nose.” Jaune admitted with a grin. “I wish they spent more time with us, but I guess their journalism studies are a bit time-consuming.”

“And Pyrrha is way too busy being a badass to bother with little old us!” Yang spotted the next statue along. “Oooh a cute little pony!” she darted over, and booped the nose of the large knight piece statue. A low, grinding sound began emanating from the wall, and Yang backed away with her hands in the air.

“That wasn’t me! I was gentle with the boop I promise!”

The platform the statue was on slowly began to rotate, revealing a dark secret passage in the walls.

“In your defence, this wall is apparently supposed to have a hole in it.” Jaune grinned evilly.

“Pyrrha is so rubbing off on you, that was actually sort of good.” Yang laughed to herself at her choice of words, and then punched Jaune on the arm.

“Hey!”

“Oh shut it Jaune-y boy. You’re fine.” Yang grabbed Jaune’s shoulder and pulled him back into an upright position, ruffling his hair before pulling a torch from her belt. “Let’s explore this!”

“Okay…”

 

The kitchen of Schnee manor was occupied this dinner-time with one cook and one sous-chef; or rather, Klein the butler was filling both roles. He was expertly preparing a roast chicken with gravy, potatoes and vegetables, in one oven, and in the other was a batch of chocolate cookies – the imitation chocolate that dogs could eat, too. Ruby and Zwei were kneeling on the floor in front of the oven, drooling over the cookies.

“Thanks so much Klein! You’re the best-est butler ever!” Ruby gave him a slightly flailing hug, avoiding his busy arms, and returned to watching the cookies brown impatiently, inhaling the smell happily. 

“Thank you, Miss Rose. It’s a pleasure to see some life brought into this house for once. Though if you would be kind enough to not run away from Miss Schnee next time…” he chided Ruby gently, as he prepared three plates, for the Schnee family who were at dinner rather than investigating the knight haunting them.

“I’ll tell her sorry. I just get carried away, and Zwei was itching to run somewhere! Plus, I’m not sure what’s more scary, this place when you’re alone or having to interact with a new person.”

“Miss Schnee is a lovely person once you get past her cold exterior, Miss Rose. She has a good heart. And she loves animals.” Klein nodded, as if those statements somehow proved a point he had been trying to make. He picked up the plates, and moved smoothly out of the kitchen. “The cookies will be ready in a minute, make sure to let them cool. I must serve dinner.”

 

The hidden door flipped shut behind them, trapping Jaune and Yang on a small area of flat stone that lay before some narrow, spiral steps. There were no lights, expect for a very faint blue light emanating from somewhere above them that cast a subtle, dim glow on the stairway. 

“I hope there is a way out up there.” Jaune commented, already beginning to imagine all the ways that they could stay trapped in the walls forever. 

Yang turned, examining the wall, turning on her torch to get a better look. She pushed at a suspicious-looking smaller brick in the largely spaced marble, and with a loud grinding sound, the entrance opened again.

“There, now we won’t get stuck, see? Let’s go!”

“Fine.” Jaune’s tone made it clear that he was regretting every decision he had made that led to this point.

They headed up the stairs, Jaune leading the way so that Yang could illuminate the path ahead. Tiptoeing forwards, they reached the top of the stairs. 

“Great, look for a door!”

“I’m trying to find one!”

“Look harder, this landing is really cramped!”

“I-“ Jaune broke off, falling sideways, surprised. His movements had pushed aside a section of the wall, leaving two round spy-holes. They heard footsteps on the other side of the wall, and Yang pushed forwards so she could look out of the right eyehole while Jaune looked from the left.

“It’s that butler guy.” Jaune whispered. “Klyde, or Nein, or whatever.”

“Klein.” Yang whispered back. “Now shut up I wanna listen!”

Klein was indeed talking to himself, muttering at a quiet volume as he dusted the bookshelves in the room they were observing.

“Selfish Mr. Schnee doesn’t consider anyone but himself. ‘Go tell Whitley to come to my office, Klein.’; ‘Go send a message to Winter, Klein.’; ‘Go clean the library, Klein, this matter is in the family not your concern.’. Gah!” 

“Looks like Klein isn’t a fanboy, huh Jaune.” Yang whispered. 

Jaune was pressed against the wall still, and he grabbed at Yang to try and pull himself upwards, and his arm caught her hair. Before Yang could so much as glare, Jaune let go, sending him crashing to the floor. They froze, silent. Klein continued to dust the shelves aggressively.

“Family concern, ha. He isn’t capable of having a fa-“ he stopped abruptly, the anger and frustration on his face vanishing as smoothly as a ripple on water. His eyes flicked straight to the eyeholes that were cut in the wall – or presumably a painting for disguise – and moved towards them. 

Yang and Jaune scrambled back down the steps, Yang punching the wall frantically until she hit the right section and they came tumbling out of the passageway, landing in a slightly painful heap on the ground. Jaune pulled Yang up and they sprinted down the corridor and into a side-room, peering out to watch the entrance to the passageway. Klein’s head poked out, and looked to each side, checking for intruders. On seeing nothing, he frowned, and withdrew, and the two blondes gave a collective sigh of relief. 

 

Ruby had waited for the cookies to cool – mostly. She exercised her patience, but she rarely gave it a chance to improve, and so she snapped, grabbing a cookie and crunching it, moaning slightly at the deliciousness of Klein’s recipe, before wincing and downing her glass of milk to remove the sticky, hot cookie mixture from the roof of her mouth. 

“Ow ow ow ow ow! Zwei, why didn’t you stop me?!” she exclaimed, pouring herself another glass that she sipped more slowly. Zwei growled at her playfully, somewhat aggrieved. 

“I know you couldn’t have stopped me, but you could have tried!” she whined. Zwei barked once in mild protest, and nudged her arm. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Ruby cast her eyes around the large kitchen, trying to find some of the warmth in the place that Klein had brought when he was there. 

She got up and wandered around, trailing a finger over the countertops, Zwei shuffling around the kitchen behind her. The counters were scrupulously clean, though she noticed with a spark of excitement that the large fridge and freezer had pinned to its front several pieces of paper and photographs. She bounded towards it, and found a collection of photographs of what must be the whole Schnee family. 

A trio of white-haired, blue-eyed children stared out of the photographs. The eldest, Winter, straight-backed and neatly dressed, with just a hint of a tomboyish streak in her militaristic clothing, even as a small child with barely enough hair to pull into a satisfactory bun. In almost every picture, her hand was on Weiss’ shoulder, gripping lightly, perhaps posing. 

Her younger sister, their employer, stood proud despite her short height, the determined upward tilt to her chin, asymmetric hairstyle and her skater-dresses that bordered on casual dress, making her stick out. Where Winter was clipped, seeming to fold into her iron discipline, Weiss seemed to strike her way out of the photographs, her posture controlled perhaps only by Winter’s hand. 

Whitley, the youngest and only boy, stood smartly dressed and slightly forward from the two girls, his hands behind his back, his father’s hand on his shoulder and an expression less closed-off than the other two. His face almost smiled. 

Ruby felt herself shrinking back from the pictures, something instinctive in her wanting to hide from the pristine, calculated portraits and the coldness they exuded. She found herself uneasy, and though she couldn’t precisely pin down why she found the presence of formal portraits to be unsettling. Zwei seemed to agree, nuzzling at her comfortingly. 

She turned to leave, but as she moved her hood dislodged one of the photographs, and when she moved to replace it, she found another picture, hidden behind the others. Winter was sat on a bench outside, with Weiss next to her, clutching eagerly at her arm, looking up to her in all senses, an admiring smile lighting up her face and eyes with a joy that had been absent in the other pictures. 

Winter was looking down at Weiss with undisguised affection, even as her free arm was being used to cuff Whitley over the head, as he stood next to the bench managing to both grin and wince at the same time. 

“So you can laugh…” she whispered, transfixed.

“Of course I can laugh, Miss Rose.” Weiss’ voice made Ruby jump, sending photographs flying and herself to the ground in an uncoordinated tangle of paper and limbs and dog.

“Uhhhhh…” Ruby looked up at Weiss sheepishly for the second time in as many hours, attempting an endearing grin.

“I merely tend not to demonstrate such childish behaviour as frequently as you seem to deem acceptable.” Despite her pointed words, she held out a hand to help Ruby up.

“I’m sorry. I was looking for clues, and then I found baking, and then I found the pictures, and-“

“It’s okay.” Weiss sighed, her brow furrowing as she bent down to gather up the pictures. “You are supposed to be looking for clues. I…knew privacy would have to be compromised.”

“You talk all posh! How do you know all those words?” Ruby grinned, helping pick up the photographs and figuring that the only way through her babbling was to just keep going and hope that eventually it would stop, or Weiss would stop her.

“I don’t talk posh!” Weiss immediately rebutted, startling Ruby. She had expected disdain, not the mild offence and – dare she think it – playfulness in Weiss’ tone.

“Yes you do!” Ruby and Weiss stood and began re-pinning the photographs, and Ruby poked Weiss with one of the magnets before handing it to her. “You’re posh!” she drew out the words teasingly, pronouncing them deliberately and carefully, in a passable imitation of Weiss herself.

“I am not!” Weiss glared at Ruby.

“Are too!” Ruby grinned, taking the last picture and pinning it down.

“I’m not! You’re just uneducated and…and childish!” Weiss exploded, actually stamping her foot once in frustration.

Ruby folded her arms, raised an eyebrow, and glanced pointedly at Weiss’ foot. 

Weiss’ lips twitched once, and with the continuing silence, her furious expression began to break down into peals of laughter. Ruby struggled to keep her expression unimpressed, but it was inevitable, and they ended up collapsed against the counters, Weiss’ posture the most relaxed that it had been since Ruby met her. The amusement in her eyes reminded her of the photograph she had found, and her happiness faded, remembering the pain and worry that had enveloped her earlier.

“There’s only one picture of you laughing. I’m glad I have evidence it wasn’t fake!” she kept her voice light-hearted, but she knew they both recognised the question for what it was – a question searching for a clue.

“It’s just…” Weiss began, pausing and biting her lip, looking down for a moment, the humour in her eyes gone and the tension in her shoulders creeping back in. 

“Our family is very famous. I’m not saying this to brag, it’s just the truth. We’re constantly in the public eye, inspected, checked for decorum. Chances to take photographs that do not represent the Schnee Company itself are…hard to come by. Almost any picture can and will be used by the press. Every family has its secrets, it’s front to the world, but for us? It’s how we Schnee’s live our entire lives.” 

She frowned, still unable to look at Ruby properly. “Our family isn’t just a family, it’s a company, a legacy to uphold. Back when we were children, we didn’t always understand that.” 

Her face was shadowed, and the harsh light from above in the ceiling, a faint scar across her eye was cast in sharp relief. “Klein would take us out for small trips, picnics. Quietly, of course, we never told Father, or Mother, not that she would have cared. One day, Winter fell into the river. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, not really, and Klein and I managed to save her. But we couldn’t hide what we had been doing. Winter sent Klein and Whitley home, she would have sent me away too while she waited for Father, but she couldn’t be left alone to get hypothermia. After that, there were no more trips. And then Winter joined the Atlas military. And the Schnee Dust Company kept on running.”

“Weiss, I-“

“It’s okay, Ruby. Perhaps it will prove relevant. If not, I trust that you will keep it a secret. If you don’t…well, my sister is in the military and I practise fencing. I’m confident that you wouldn’t be able to betray my trust.”

“Uhh…” Ruby stared at Weiss, her eyes wide, until the other girl relented and gave a small grin.

“I’m not serious all the time, you dolt!” Weiss lightly punched Ruby’s arm, and they giggled slightly, relieving the tension in the air.

“Alright, I’m sorry, you got me!” Ruby exclaimed, slowly standing up and stretching out, noticing that Zwei had cozied up to Weiss during the story. “But technically, it’s not trust if you’re also threatening me.”

“Shut up!”

“Nope!”

“Dolt!”

“Princess!”

“Buffoon!”

“Posh-girl!”

“Insufferable brat!”

“You can call me Ruby, you know.”

“Call me Weiss.” She held out a hand and Ruby awkwardly shook it, still giggling, while Weiss only betrayed herself with a slight smirk.

“Sooo…any other deep dark secrets you want to tell me before I start investigating some more?” Ruby grinned. “Another sibling who got stuck in a well? That you ate the last cookies on your sister’s birthday?”

“How did you know about the cookies?!” Weiss paused, then laughed again. “Jerk!”  
“Prude!”

“Ruby!”

“Yep!”

They elbowed each other in a flurry of playful amusement as they headed to the door of the kitchen. 

Ruby swung the door open and came face to face with the tall, shining suit of armour that was haunting the mansion.

 

Jaune and Yang emerged from the side-room, finding the corridor empty and threatening as ever. Slowly, they became aware of the sound of running feet, and they had just enough time to look towards it at the intersection of two long stretches of path before Yang was almost toppled over by an armful of Ruby. 

“Hey, sis! Guess what? We found an actual secret passageway!” Yang blinked in consternation as her sibling scrambled out of her grip, Zwei already overtaking them as she was dragged into a sprint, noticing Weiss Schnee dragging Jaune behind them by his hood.

“RUUUUN!” Ruby screeched, her arms flailing wildly. “WE FOUND THE GHOST!”

“Oh!” 

Yang wrested her arm from Ruby’s grip and instead looked over her shoulder, finding Jaune looking utterly shell-shocked as he was washed forwards in Weiss’ wake, and an alarmingly tall, glowing white suit of armour hot in pursuit. With no end to the corridor in sight, they silently adopted their standard procedure in such circumstances. 

Ruby and Zwei veered off to the left, Yang diving off to the right with Jaune and Weiss. The armour skidded to a halt, looking around, until Ruby and Zwei appeared, sprinting as if rocket-propelled out of the room they had entered, steam and a flannel inscribed with ‘Whitley’ chasing them out. She looked up at the creature for a moment, and Zwei leapt into her arms.

“Ahhhhh!” she screeched, sprinting forwards at a remarkable pace across a runner. Zwei gripped it in his teeth and pulled, sending the armour flying backwards for a moment, giving them the chance to dash to the right and hide. 

 

The armour came lumbering past, slowing down, turning its head from side to side, searching for prey. It turned as if to move down another corridor. Jaune, Yang and Weiss suddenly appeared, tiptoeing across the corridor on a perpendicular route. Ruby leaned out, shaking her head frantically and waving her arms to the now almost-hidden armour. Yang waved back, ignoring Jaune’s tug at her sleeve. 

“Yang, I don’t think she’s waving at us…”

“What else would she be doing?” Yang whispered, waving once more. 

Ruby shook her head again, but it was too late. Yang dashed over to meet Ruby, followed by an apprehensive Jaune. Weiss and Zwei seemed to have vanished. By the time Yang and Jaune reached the intersection, the armour had begun to turn around. 

Ruby’s frantic pointing finally made them look to the side, and they froze, Jaune diving behind Yang just as the armour noticed them. It growled, and Yang squared up to the armour. 

“Alright. Have it your way!” She moved into a boxing stance, and as the armour swung a fist at them, she swung hers up to meet it, creating a resounding crash that pushed Yang backwards down the hallway, wrinkling the runner she was standing on. “Take that, you weird creepy ghost!” Yang yelled. 

The armour was still stood in its half-finished punch pose, and for a moment they hoped it had been damaged. But instead, it drew itself up slowly, and drew a gigantic broadsword. 

“Well, that didn’t work!” Yang grabbed Jaune, pulling him up from the floor. “Let’s try running again!”

“Run and live, now that’s a plan I can get behind!” Jaune commented, and Ruby, Yang and Jaune all sprinted down the hallway, now pursued by an irate sword-wielding ghost.

 

The ghost-armour’s stride was long, far longer than any of the team’s, and despite its slower movements it was inexorably catching up with them. The group sprinted on past another set of corridors to the sides of the path they were on, only to reach a dead end marked by a wide set of ornate windows.

“Quick, get to the other-“ Jaune began, but it was too late; the armour had passed the set of corridors that promised escape.

“We could jump out the window!” Ruby suggested, backing up against the glass as her sister instinctively moved forward to protect her.

“Ruby, don’t even think about it. I can probably take it.” Yang began to size up the creature, and it raised its broadsword slowly. Before she could move forward to take a swing at it, Jaune grabbed her arm.

“Yang, there is no way you could outmatch that thing’s strength. I’ll distract it so you and Ruby can run!”

“No way, you can’t do-“ Yang’s gaze was drawn from her argument with Jaune by the rasping sound of a sword being drawn. Ruby had taken a sword from one of the decorative suits of armour, staggering forwards and holding it up ready to meet the knight’s heavy downswing.

“Ruby!” Yang yelled, lunging forwards only to be yanked back by Jaune, collapsing dangerously against the window with him as a white blur moved past her vision and the clang of metal-on-metal filled the echoing hallways.

 

Ruby cringed, eyes closed, fully prepared to be crushed by the ghost, the clang resounding in her ears, though oddly not her limbs. 

“What were you thinking?!” a familiar, irritated voice filled the gaps in the echoing. Ruby slowly blinked her eyes open, to find Weiss standing in front of her, rapier raised, the glowing knight slowly staggering back, it’s sword-arm splayed wide from her swift deflection.

“Where did you come from?” Ruby let her arms drop to her sides, her sword falling to the floor with a clatter. Weiss ignored her, instead shoving her backwards, to Yang and Jaune, arranging herself so she was between the group and the knight.

“How could you be so reckless? You don’t even know how to use that sword! Stay back!”

“Weiss –“

“I’ve fought it off before, Ruby, now be quiet!”

Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but was distracted by Zwei, who had apparently accompanied Weiss and now leapt into Ruby’s arms, growling fiercely at the knight. Ruby clung to Zwei, and watched nervously. 

Weiss seemed incredibly small against the knight, and it was no longer off-balance, swinging at her with immense speed. Weiss was smaller, but significantly faster; she dodged the blow, letting it collide with the walls, taking a small chunk out of the stone. She darted in, striking a glancing blow to its upper legs before she was forced to back away as it threw a punch with its free hand. She managed to dodge the punch too, her jump crushing her into the wall. She ducked, rolling to avoid the next sword strike, bracing herself to meet and deflect it’s backhand, sending her skidding backwards. 

Ruby itched to help, and could see her friends aching to do the same, but she dared not interfere again. Zwei, it seemed, had no such compunctions, and he wriggled from her grasp, moving to Weiss’ side in an instant, barking loudly and drawing the creature’s attention. Weiss used the knight’s distraction to move in closer, under its arm, and she managed to jam her rapier between two armoured plates in its leg, sending it reeling as she leapt back. Zwei moved forwards, following it’s backward stumbling and growling. The knight backed away further, then turned into the corridor to the side. By the time they had collected themselves enough to check, it had vanished entirely.

 

“You really didn’t have to, Weiss.” Blake murmured, as she finished setting up her equipment and pulled out her laptop. “I could have done the analyses in PENNY.”

“You’re welcome.” 

Weiss ignored her second comment, placing her rapier on the table ready for inspection, and moving to stand near Ruby, who was sat cross-legged in a small armchair, Zwei in her lap. Weiss sat on the arm of Ruby’s chair and absently stroked Zwei, alternating between watching Ruby play a game on her phone and watching the rest of the team at work. Jaune was sitting on the sofa next to Blake, occasionally handing her equipment and reading off measurements. Blake herself perched on the edge of the sofa, trawling through images and graphs, utterly absorbed in her work. 

Yang lay on the sofa behind Blake, curled around her girlfriend and watching her brilliance, her gaze occasionally skittering to Ruby, as if checking she hadn’t attempted to run off and fight the knight alone again. Weiss felt strangely at peace. The feeling of loving pet and the sense of family between the group she had hired threatened to overwhelm her.

“Weiss, I’m done with your rapier now.” Blake’s voice broke her out of her reverie, and Weiss nodded, extracting herself from the armchair and collecting her weapon.

“Thank you. Do you-“ Weiss paused, hearing the waver in her voice and closing her eyes for a moment to right it. “Do you think this will help?”

“Don’t worry, Blake can get crazy amounts of information from anything! She’s the brainy type.” Yang grinned, sitting up and pressing a kiss to Blake’s cheek.

“Ugh, you’re such a dork.” Blake admonished, but she blushed and let herself lean back against her girlfriend anyway.

“Yang may be biased, but she is right.” Added Jaune, looking up from his phone to send a reassuring grin at Weiss. 

“Thank you.” She repeated, starting to move out of the room she had loaned Mystery Inc. “I should go now. I’ll-“ Her voice wavered again, and she paused for breath. “See you tomorrow!” She turned and did her best to walk calmly out of the room.

 

Ruby caught up with Weiss almost immediately. She touched a hand lightly to the heiress’ shoulder, and Weiss turned, unsure if she was grateful or annoyed that she had been followed.

“What do you want?” her voice came out harsher than intended, but Ruby didn’t seem to mind.

“Are you okay? It’s just, back there, you seemed a little, well, not.” Ruby’s feet scuffed at the floor as she spoke, betraying her awkwardness. But her silvery eyes held only concern, and it was that genuine emotion that finally melted Weiss’ icy front.

“My father aggravated his old leg injury running from the knight. Whitley and Klein are okay, but-“ Weiss cut herself off, her voice soft and quiet and ending in a choked sob. There were no tears, though. There never were. 

She looked down at the floor intently, mirroring Ruby’s previous posture, ashamed to have shown such weakness. But then she could sense Ruby’s proximity, and gentle arms pulled her into a hug that she was powerless to resist. Slowly, she relaxed into it, and even began to return it despite the way the affection was bringing tears closer to the fore. A phone chiming broke the moment, and Weiss leapt back, startled. She flicked to her messages. 

“That was Whitley. I should go.” She said, aware her voice was blistered with emotion.

“Alright. See you tomorrow, Weiss.” Ruby said quietly, looking as innocent and open as Weiss had never dared to be.

“Yes.” Weiss blushed, and walked away down the corridor. If her sharp posture was aching with the desire to turn and look back, she refused to admit it.

 

When Ruby re-entered the room, Yang looked over, her eyes bright with interest that make Ruby groan pre-emptively against whatever sisterly teasing was about to occur.

“So, you wanted to talk to Weiss alone, huh.” Yang waggled her eyebrows suggestively, searching for a reaction. “Oh, and you’re blushing! Does Ruby have a crush?” she gasped, nudging Jaune, who shook his head.

“I want no part in this.” Jaune said, torn between cringing and laughing. “I have been on the receiving end of this form of teasing far too often! Besides, Weiss seemed really upset.”

“Ugh, Pyrrha’s nice-ness has been a good influence on you!” Yang moaned. “Blake, you support me, right?”

“I’m sure Ruby will talk about her crushes with you when you stop poking for it, Yang.” 

Blake grinned to take the edge off her words before looking up at Ruby. “Was she okay?”

“Her dad’s old leg injury got worse from running, but they’re all okay. She’s just worried.” Ruby explained, grateful for the diversion.

“Hey, it could be worse. She could be allergic to cats and dogs too!” Yang joked. 

“Yang!” Ruby moaned, resuming her position in the chair and cuddling up to Zwei again. “Leave me alone. I’m gonna have a nap.”

“Alright, baby sis!” Yang said cheerfully. Ruby glared at her before closing her eyes, listening to the lulling sound of Blake’s typing and questioning Yang and Jaune on their day’s discoveries. 

When she awoke later, it was to hear Blake’s master-plan.

“We’re going to need to be quick and surround it, by the area it cornered you before. Weiss will cut it off from behind, Jaune and Yang from the right. Ruby and Zwei will cut it off from the left corridor, and I’ll be by the window to activate the trap.”

“Okay – and how are we going to trap a gigantic suit of armour?” Jaune asked, somewhat nervously.

“Message your girlfriend, Jaune. We’re going to need a rather big electromagnet.”

 

Weiss held her rapier loosely in her left hand, waiting for nightfall with Ruby, who had volunteered to let her know of the plan Mystery Inc had formed.

“So, what are you going to do once this is sorted?” Ruby asked, curiously.

“Well…I’ve applied to and entered Beacon Academy.” Weiss admitted, blushing fiercely.

“You want to be a detective?!” Ruby squealed, a bright smile lighting up her face with excitement.

“You don’t think that it’s foolish?”

“No! I think you’d make a great detective. I mean look at us, we’re already working a case together!” Ruby smiled, nudging Weiss’ shoulder with hers.

“Thanks, Ruby.” Weiss smiled.

“You’re welcome!” Ruby enunciated the words deliberately, drawing out the syllables in a way that made Weiss smile yet again. “I like it when you smile.” Ruby said, shyly. Weiss looked away, and her eyes darted to the clock on the wall.

“It’s nearly midnight – we should leave.”

“Um, okay.” 

Ruby darted from the library, taking Zwei with her, leaving Weiss alone among the dark panelled walls and books bought by her grandfather. The weight of the previous generations of her family felt oppressive, and she was glad when she saw the clock meet midnight, and she could head into the corridors to meet the ghostly knight, hopefully for the last time. For a moment she worried that it would not show, and she paced the section of the marble floors restlessly, attempting to betray no anxiety, though her posture was stiff enough that it left little doubt.

 

Finally, she heard familiar footsteps, and the knight appeared around the corner. She wasn’t sure why, but it seemed less scary to her now. She raised her weapon and struck, slashing it across the knight’s chest before darting away from its fist and going in for its knee. It struck upwards viciously, the sharpened edge of the knee-guard catching her across the face, and she was flung backwards into the wall. 

She fumbled upright, dazed, and blinked the trail of blood out of her vision. She ducked the fist that swung and moved smoothly forwards, jumping onto the broadsword and stabbing at the knight’s hand, and the sword clattered to the floor, the creature stumbling backwards at the unexpected loss. She pressed forward yet more, repeating the move from the previous night and stabbing into its knee, and it reeled backwards, turning and moving in its slow, large steps, running away from her and towards the trap. She followed, her feet almost gliding against the smooth marble floor. 

 

The ghost knight saw the large window, obscured by curtains, and began to lumber to the right. Jaune stood just behind Yang, who raised her fists menacingly, her eyes seeming to glow with anger and adrenaline. The knight turned, lurching unsteadily around to the left, where it was met with a barking dog and Ruby, who was once more determinedly brandishing a sword from the suit of armour she had used last time.

“Don’t even think about it, Mister!” She called.   
Weiss saw it turn to face her, and she prepared herself for the inevitable dash it would make to go back the way it had come.

“Now!” Jaune yelled, and Blake stepped out from behind the curtains, one hand holding her scroll which was on a call to a beautiful redhead who seemed to be giving instructions, and flipped the switch in her other hand. 

A loud hum filled the area, and the knight jerked backwards. It tried to move forwards, but seemed to be stuck in sliding slow-motion, the movement looking almost like a bizarre dance move. Ruby’s sword fell from her grip and flew through the air, hitting a large object hidden behind the curtains with a clang. Weiss could feel her rapier trying to pull her towards the electromagnet, but with its smaller mass she was able to keep hold of it. The knight, though was struggling further, looking panicked and far smaller than she had thought it was. Blake ducked out of the way of its flailing limbs and could barely restrain a grin as it was pinned to the wall by the invisible force of magnetism.

“Thaks, Pyrrha!” She said with a smile, ending the call. She motioned them all forwards. The knight tried to thrash, but succeeded only in turning its head from side to side, taking in the approach of Mystery Inc and Weiss. 

 

Behind the group now gathered in front of the knight, a pair of journalists came hurtling into view, crammed together on a large metal armour chest-plate.

“Oh my gosh, we got here just in time!” shrieked the smaller one, jumping off the board and pulling her companion with her as the chest-piece flew into the air and smashed against the knight’s knee, causing it to yell in a loud, and very human manner.

“Nora!” panted the taller of the two, looking mildly horrified by what he had been a part of. “Please, never do that again!”

“Aw.” The girl, dressed entirely in pink and clutching a vivid pink camera, frowned at the now warped chest-plate in disappointment. “It’s broken!”

“How about the story, Nora? Pictures!” the boy rolled his eyes at her dramatic nature, pulling out a notepad and beginning to take notes. “I assume this is the big reveal?”

“Sure, Ren!” trilled Nora, readying the camera with an almost vicious air.

“You’re here just in time, as always.” Blake smiled at the two of them, the rest of Mystery Inc waving, while Weiss simply stared for a moment, turning back to the knight as if people skated into the manor on suits of armour every day.

“Let’s get this over with.” Weiss said, determinedly.

 

“So, it took a lot of investigating to get here, but I think we all know who the knight is.” Jaune began, stepping forwards. “It’s really quite simple. The knight is-“   
He was cut off by a loud, metallic sneeze that reverberated through the helmet. Jaune jumped, suddenly unsure, and Blake laughed, waving to Yang before stepping forwards herself.

“As my wonderful girlfriend Yang is about to reveal,” she said, waiting for Yang to grip the knight’s helmet before continuing. “The knight terror of Schnee Manor was in fact – Mr Jacques Schnee!”

Yang pulled the helmet off and jerked backwards in surprise. The man’s gaze was fixed on Weiss, filled with anger. Weiss unconsciously shrank back from him, as the rest of the group stared in shock.

“But I thought for sure that it was Klein!” Jaune protested.

“No, Klein clearly cared about the children. Which is why it was obviously not him.” Blake explained. “Mr Schnee here married into the family. Born a Gelee, he needs Weiss here to give himself some form of legitimacy as the owner of the Schnee Dust Company. With his intended heiress already abandoning him for the Atlas military, over both personal and professional disagreements about his questionable methods,” Blake paused to glare at him pointedly, her bow twitching lightly, “If another Schnee were to leave, it would put him in a difficult position. So he invented a reason to keep Weiss here, in the Manor, and away from her enrolment at Beacon Academy.”

“How did you find out?” Jacques spat, and this time Weiss actually flinched.

“Well, it was telling when you were so hostile to us despite us being here to ostensibly help you – you had the excuse of allergies, but it was more than that. You were concerned we would catch on. And when Weiss injured the knight, you also mysteriously had an injury playing up in that very same spot. With your hostility and behaviour to your family, it wasn’t a difficult leap.” Blake spoke dispassionately, but her eyes burned with something that was almost more terrifying than Yang’s quick, fiery temper. “At least now you will be brought to justice.”

In the ringing silence, Weiss finally spoke.

“Father.” All eyes turned to her, and Ruby had to be held back by Jaune, or she would have gone to her, to try and comfort her, because her voice was so very broken. “Father, how could you? You know how much I wanted to go to Beacon! I would have come back, I would have been everything you wanted, I just wanted to have two years where I studied something just for me!”

“You would never have made it at Beacon!” Jacques shouted viciously, glaring at his daughter with a harshness that was painful to look at. “You would have abandoned the Company, crushed out name, all for your foolish dreams to amount to something! You could never be a detective, you lack any of the skills, and if you think you can be one now because you betrayed me, you are a fool. You have been and always will be a failure, Weiss! I should have disowned you and used Whitley in your place! You’ve always been so stubborn, so emotional and uncontrolled – I would have gotten away with it, if it weren’t for your meddling detectives! And that stupid dog!”

Weiss’ rapier clattered to the floor from her shaking hands. She was paler than usual, and her left hand slowly rose up to touch the blood drying on her cheek. Her expression hardened, her right hand clenching into a fist. 

“Goodbye, Father. I hope you have a wonderful time in jail.” She turned, moving past the two journalists without a word.

Nora captured Jacques shocked, pained expression with a flash of pink light and her camera, Magenhildt.

 

Jaune finally released Ruby, beginning to prepare for the calling of the authorities and evidence statements to hand Jacques over to his trial. Ruby sprinted after Weiss, accompanied by Zwei. They spend five minutes wandering the corridors, trying to locate her, and eventually they made their way to the kitchen, at a loss. Ruby found Klein in the kitchen, stirring a pot on the stove.

“Have you seen Weiss?” Ruby asked, nervously.

“She’ll be in her room – it’s up the stairs to the right, third door down.” Klein took the pot off the stove, and poured out two mugs of the hot chocolate he had been brewing. He placed them on a tray, next to a small first aid kit. “Here you are, Miss Rose. I think that between these and your presence, Miss Schnee will feel better.”

“Th-thank you!” Ruby stuttered slightly, overwhelmed by grateful embarrassment. She took the tray, and walked carefully to the door. Klein opened it for her with a little bow, and Zwei bounded past and forwards, as if he knew exactly where to go. 

 

Ruby found Weiss’ door shut, but couldn’t get a hand free to knock. Zwei scratched at the door instead, and faint footsteps were heard approaching, the door slowly creaking open.

“Hello? What do you want?” Weiss’ voice was wavering and trying desperately to be hostile.

“Um, I brought Zwei and some hot chocolate.” Ruby offered.

“Oh.” Weiss backed away from the door, and Ruby shuffled in awkwardly. She found some free space on a desk and placed the tray down on it, next to a pile of neatly stacked books, over some meticulous notes in blue fountain pen ink.

“Here you go.” 

Ruby handed Weiss one of the mugs, and she took it wordlessly, moving to sit down on her bed. After a moment, she seemed to relax, and she took a sip. The action precipitated tears, and some fell into the cut that was beginning to set, making her wince. 

Ruby immediately grabbed the first-aid kit, and took the hot chocolate from Weiss, putting it on the bedside table and silently cleaning the cut, applying the stitches with the slightly clumsy actions of someone who had taken a course but never done the real thing. When she was done, she found herself reluctant to move away, letting one hand linger on Weiss’ cheek. 

“It’s going to be okay, Weiss.” She said, softly.

Weiss looked away, ashamed of the tears welling in her eyes. Then she looked back to Ruby, letting out a sharp breath and closing her eyes wearily, leaning in towards her. Ruby pulled the other girl into a hug, and they stayed entangled for a while. Finally, Weiss drew back, pulling the frayed strands of her control back into place. She nodded, once.

“I’ll sort out the chaos, now, and once that is done I can go to Beacon Academy.”

Ruby grinned widely at the mention of Beacon.

“You’re going to Beacon! Oh my gosh, we could be detective partners! If you want, that is, I mean it’s okay if you don’t want to! It’s just that I don’t know who else because Yang is my sister which would just be odd, and Blake is great but I’d talk her to death, and the others already have their detective partners sorted, and I asked but I can’t be partnered with Zwei and –“ 

“Yes.”

“-of course I don’t think that is fair because Zwei is plenty smart for a dog, but I guess I need a human partner and it would be great if it were you, I mean it’s not just because I think you’re cute I mean you’d make an amazing detective and I always want to be the best and I think that-“

“Ruby! I said yes!” Weiss paused, taking in the rest of the tirade. “You think I’m cute?” 

“Oh. Yes? I mean, maybe? Do you mind?” Ruby blushed as pink as her surname.

“You’re such a dolt!” Weiss rolled her eyes, and gathered up her scroll, preparing to head out.

“Um?” Ruby blinked at Weiss, confused.

“Come on, Ruby. Let’s get Mystery Inc. home, so I can organise my father’s mess, and pack for Beacon.” Weiss took her hand and led her out of the room. Ruby followed, blushing as she noted the hand that held her own gently.

“Weiss,” Ruby whispered. “You’re holding my hand.”

“Yes, I am quite aware of that.” Weiss felt a smile twitching at the corner of her mouth, and struggled to clamp it down.

“But that’s kinda romantic.”

“Once again, I am aware.”

“Oh yeah! You like me!” Ruby crowed victoriously, swinging their arms by the joined hand and trying to skip forwards rather than walking.

“Calm down, you buffoon!” 

“Spoilsport!”

“Brat!”

“Ice queen!”

“Hey!”

 

The rest of Mystery Inc. was waiting in the PENNY, and Weiss came to wave them off.

“See you at Beacon!”

“Bye, Weiss!”

“Can I have your autograph!”

“Shut up Jaune!”

“Bye!”

Zwei barked out a goodbye. Weiss grinned and waved back at her new friends. She was looking forward to Beacon already.


End file.
